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Ave Maria in the Afternoon – October 7, 2025 – Hour 2

Dr. Popcak joins us with tips for how couples can work towards compassionate problem resolution, and we discuss Pascal’s defense of faith with Dr. Paul Seaton.

 

Compassionate Problem Resolution

The way we’re disciplined as kids tends to impact the way we handle interpersonal conflict as adults. Greg Popcak encourages parents to employ “Discipleship Discipline,” in which parents calmly work and pray with the child to identify the intention behind their actions and then teach more appropriate ways to meet those intentions – and this rolls over into conflict resolution in Marriage becomes Compassionate Problem Resolution in marriage. He tells us more about it.

Dr Greg Popcak is the founder and director of CatholicCounselors.com, a group pastoral telecounseling practice providing faithful help to Catholics dealing with personal, emotional and relationship problems. He is also the former chair of the Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies program at Holy Apostles College and Seminary and an adjunct professor of psychology and graduate theology at Franciscan. Together with his wife, Lisa, he is the author of over 20 books integrating insights from counseling psychology and the timeless wisdom of our Catholic faith. They are also the developers of the CatholicHOM app, a resource helping Catholic families thrive.

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Rupnik and Gaudí: A Tale of Two Virtues

Pope Francis’ promotion of architect Antoni Gaudí to “Venerable” last April amidst the ongoing scandal of the formerly celebrated artist, Jesuit Father Marko Rupnik, creates an interesting juxtaposition. As the Church confronts the legacy of Father Rupnik, the sanctity of Antoni Gaudí raises enduring questions about what sacred art reveals about the soul of its maker. Daniel Gallagher has more.

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Rupnik and Gaudí: A Tale of Two Virtues

Daniel B. Gallagher is a Lecturer in Literature and Philosophy at Ralston College.

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Pascal’s Defense of the Christian Proposition

Blaise Pascal was the first Christian apologist to address modern human beings on their own terms and present a defense of the Christian religion that still resonates today. We examine his thought and work with Dr. Paul Seaton.

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Challenging Modern Atheism and Indifference

 

Dr. Paul Seaton is an independent scholar whose areas of intellectual interest and specialization include political philosophy and French philosophical thought. He has translated and written extensively on modern and contemporary French political philosophers from Alexis de Tocqueville and Benjamin Constant to Rémi Brague, Chantal Delsol, and Pierre Manent. He is the translator of Pierre Manent's The Religion of Humanity, and author of Public Philosophy and Patriotism: Essays on the Declaration and Us (2024), both published by St. Augustine’s Press.

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